


A New Job

by SunnyD_lite



Category: Angel: the Series, BtVS - Fandom
Genre: Gen, Post Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-10-28
Updated: 2005-10-28
Packaged: 2017-10-07 19:23:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/68379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SunnyD_lite/pseuds/SunnyD_lite
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p><b>Set:</b> About now(fall 2005) being two years post Not Fade Away<br/><b>Disclaimer:</b> Created by Joss, owned by corporations played with by me. No profit no foul, right?<br/><b>A/N:</b> Thanks bunches to my beta <b>desota_hia873</b> and my friend Jo who pointed out what one of Faith's problems would be.</p>
    </blockquote>





	A New Job

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LizMarcs](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=LizMarcs).



> **Set:** About now(fall 2005) being two years post Not Fade Away  
> **Disclaimer:** Created by Joss, owned by corporations played with by me. No profit no foul, right?  
> **A/N:** Thanks bunches to my beta **desota_hia873** and my friend Jo who pointed out what one of Faith's problems would be.

Maybe he should buy a clock.

He was slouched behind the battered desk in the front room of the office, staring at the cooling cup of coffee before him. He could start on the filing. Not that there was much to file. Not that there was a place to file it. He moved into these offices six months ago, and, if anything, they felt even dustier, dingier, than when he'd moved in. It was all he deserved.

He picked up his complete Chandler collection of detective stories. The darkness and broken heroes of noir appealed to him, and it had been left in one of the desk drawers. After the showdown with the Senior Partners, L.A. had become a little too hot. He'd wandered the first year, staying under the radar. Lawson's visit had reminded him of his time in New York, so he'd ended up settling on the east coast.

It might be the City that Never Sleeps, but that didn't bring many clients to his door. And with no connection to the Powers, he was stuck at loose ends and the occasional divorce case.

He heard the footsteps in the hall. That in itself was surprising as the lower floor of the building rarely had visitors. The steps were hesitant. They paused outside his door. He could hear the speeding heartbeat, then he heard a pair of heavier steps. His door swung open with a squeak he hadn't bothered to fix.

It was a dame. He caught the impression of a tailored suit, controlled hair, legs that went forever, glasses and...

Angel sputtered his coffee. "Faith?"

"You were right, I should have had the camera on. Spike will kill me for not capturing THAT expression."

A familiar voice broke Angel from his paralysis.

"Harris," he growled. "Wasn't expecting a visit from the Council."

Stepping between the two, Faith raised her hands in a surrender move. "Chill, Soulboy. We need your help." She paused,"I need your help."

He turned to really look at her. He knew it was Faith, but the request for help? Before a tussle or one of them hitting bottom? That was new. Could she have really changed enough to ask for help before previously required torture sessions?

"Damn, now I've missed his goldfish impression. Tell me you've got the super spy-ware thing running."

"Spy-ware?"

"Yup, Deadboy. She's not as good as Q, but one of the Cleveland slayers loves her tech. She's our Marshall."

He knew that Harris probably thought he was imparting information. Not letting himself get distracted, he focused on the part he DID understand.

"Don't call me Deadboy. And why are YOU here?"

While that had clearly been directed at her partner, Faith replied, "Like I said, I need your help. There's a mystic whatchamacallit.. ."

"The Amulet of Nedow," Xander interjected smoothly.

"Ya, that's it, which Christies is auctioning off in their 'special room'."

Angel nodded. Everyone in the know knew about that auction house's willingness to sell to what might generously be called a wider clientele. They had a special level under their Rockerfeller Center building, with sewer access for their more discreet, or less humanoid, customers.

Faith, never one worried about other people's personal space, tried to sit on the edge of his desk. He noticed the pissed off expression when she realized the skirt forced her to keep her legs tightly together.

"And I need you to play Higgins."

He must have looked as confused as he felt.

"Look, I've watched enough Alias to know that the outfit's good start but the attitude and, like, vocab and shit really carries the undercover op and it's not like I can ask Cyclops here how to act classy."

"Hey, not fair, who else can tell you which doughnut goes with which microbrew?"

"Like you even eat doughnuts anymore."

That comment, more than any of the night's other strangeness, disrupted Angel's equilibrium.

"No doughnuts?" was all he was able to say.

"Unless I wanted my superpower to be the fastest expanding waistband, kinda had to cut out the doughnuts when I stopped getting tossed into walls on a weekly basis. Funny, paperwork and its frustrations-not the calorie burner you'd think."

At least the man in front of him had kept the same sense of what Angel assumed passed for humor. Not everything had changed then.

Gathering his thoughts Angel slowly stated, "So the Amulet is up for auction and you want Faith to go undercover? Why?"

"Us to go undercover," Faith clarified. "Seems a number of the nasties really don't appreciate the new Council and the multitude of slayers." She shrugged. "So, dude and I get to play dress up," turning to Harris she continued, "and I still don't get why me going undercover means wearing more clothes. I swear pantyhose are demonic!"

"Ah, that would explain why you 'slayed' three pairs getting into that outfit." Harris, with what looked like the ease borne of long practice, ducked the arm swat headed his way.

Ignore the question of female fashion's practicality, Angel asked, "Why not just telephone in the bids? Or hire an agent?"

"Good questions, both." Harris had plunked himself into one of the two client chairs that had come with the office. "That might have worked for a normal auction--though telephone lines are hard to qualify for on the more popular items--but apparently they're a tinsy bit warier of interest in their special items. You need two of their current customers to vouch for you, which is a problem because, see nasties upset with Council."

"But they'll let you just walk in?"

Xander snorted. "'course not. First they want to see our pretty pretty money, or rather pretty pretty Swiss or Cayman bank balance. Then there's a mystic weapon scanner and they'll probably have a psychic or two looking for impure thoughts."

Angel wondered why that phrase raised a blush on the former Scooby.

"I mean intentions to steal or harm. We won't have those so should be in the clear."

"So Big Guy, what do you say? The auction's at the end of the week. Will you help us?" Faith playfully batted her eyelashes at him, but he could see the real worry in her eyes. This was important to her. And she'd turned to him.

"If we keep this mutual helping out..." he said with a small smile.

"it might lead to hugs and we can't have that." But she smiled back at him.

It felt good to be needed. Looks like he finally had a job worth doing.

**Author's Note:**

> Name/LJ name: liz_marcs  
> Ficathon in which your request wasn't written: Faith Fic-A-Thon  
> Missing ficathon request you requested, with all characters/pairings/requirements.
> 
> Here 'tis:  
> One to Two other characters you want[state whether romantic or not]: Xander (romantic or frienship) and Angel (friendship only)  
> Two other requests: Takes place three years after "Chosen" and two years after the end of "Angel the Series"; the three of them are working together to retrieve an object, which might require at least two of the trio to go "undercover"  
> Three things you don't want: NO CHARACTER BASHING!; no shipping Faith with Spike or Robin; no acting like jealous children on the part of any of the characters  
> Any comments/questions: Not interested in a primarily shipper story, although if you want to include a Faith/Xander romantic relationship, that's fine. I'd like Angel to be "friends only" with Faith. Please, no child-ish jealousness on the part of anyone (although if you have a Faith/Xander romance, a little treat "her right" growling from Angel would be just fine) and no character bashing (although characters snarking on each other would be awesome!) Just have fun. I'm actually pretty easy to please.


End file.
